Uganda Atlas of Our Changing Environment - GRID-Arendal

Kooki hills in Kacheera sub county, Rakai District
of deeply weathered regolith, on mudstones and shale
rocks. Ferralic Acrisols (well drained) occur on the upland
pediment slopes and support moderate crop production,
while at the footslopes and valley bottoms, halpic luvisols
are a common feature. In the valley bottoms and river
valleys, a variation of deposition related soils occur, both
arenosols and luvisols (for example, Ferralic arenosols,
Halpic arenosols, Halpic gleysols and Arenic gleysols).
Most of these soils are of medium productivity and tend
to be of higher moisture content during the dry season.
Kooki hills are located in the relatively dry zone of
Uganda (the cattle corridor) with climatic conditions
classified as dry sub-humid to semi-arid. Rainfall
records at Kibanda indicate that the area receives about
880 mm annually (Climatology Statistics for East Africa
Part II - Uganda; East Africa Meteorological Department,
Nairobi 1975). Occasionally, the area experiences periods
of prolonged droughts which sometimes lead to severe
moisture deficit. During this dry season, extensive and
uncontrolled bush burning, a traditional practice mainly
used as a means of land clearing for agriculture and for
rejuvenation of young and tender grasses for livestock
grazing.
Rakai has over 20,000 head of cattle. During the periods
of drought and pasture and water deficits, about 70,000
more heads of cattle come from other areas in search of
pasture and water leading to a swelling cattle population
of over 90,000 which, in turn, put tremendous pressure on
land, exacerbating the problem of overgrazing.
A combination of low soil fertility and poor structure,
steep slopes, low available plant moisture, as well as
poor grazing and crop growing practices, is thought to
be the main cause of extensive occurrence of patches of
bare ground on the Kooki hills. The rate of expansion of
these bare patches is reported to have recently increased
dramatically, which indicates rapid environmental change
in the area. Consequences of this process are far reaching,
especially with regard to reduction of grazing land,
increased runoff and erosion and, increased sedimentation
problems in the valleys below and in water systems.
With increased degradation to bare ground in upland
areas, people are turning to the valley bottoms and dry
plains, wetlands, river banks, and fragile ecosystems for
both crop cultivation and grazing, leading to yet new
threats of degradation and environmental change.
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Rakai District Local Administration (2007)